editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Sam has worked at Vermont Public Radio since October 1978 in various capacities – almost always involving audio engineering. He excels at sound engingeering for live performances. Sam has been an audio engineer for most of his professional life. From 1965 to 1978 he was the Supervising Audio Technician at the New York Public Library Record Archives at Lincoln Center. He enjoys camping, hiking, canoeing, and contra dancing; and he loves to travel, especially to Peru and the Caribbean. Sam has served for many years as a volunteer in response to the AIDS epidemic.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Sam SandersSun, 13 Aug 2017 19:38:35 +0000Sam Sandershttp://kuer.org
Sam SandersA panel at the 2017 National Association of Black Journalists conference in New Orleans featuring White House aide Omarosa Manigault quickly went south after Manigault refused to answer questions about the administration in which she serves. The panel made news before it even started, according to Page Six , which reported that Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times and Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker refused to take part in the panel after they were informed they would be on stage with Manigault. "Cobb told Page Six that the reason for pulling out 'wasn't simply the addition of Omarosa. It was that she was added at the eleventh hour and it was unclear whether we would be able to discuss substantive issues regarding the administration and its policing policies. Also, the panel was very disorganized, and basic things like format were not clear.'" Moderator and broadcast journalist Ed Gordon stepped in at the last minute, but he sparred with Manigault almost as soon as she stepped onBlack Journalists' Panel With Omarosa Manigault Ends In Angerhttp://kuer.org/post/black-journalists-panel-omarosa-manigault-ends-anger
94719 as http://kuer.orgFri, 11 Aug 2017 22:38:00 +0000Black Journalists' Panel With Omarosa Manigault Ends In AngerSam SandersThis amazing kid got to enjoy 19 awesome years on this Planet. What he left behind is wondtacular. See why we have an absolutely ridiculous standard of beauty in just 37 seconds. A boy makes anti-Muslim comments in front of an American soldier. The soldier's reply: priceless. You know it well. The Upworthy headline. That model of building curiosity by keeping the true topic of a story hidden until you click. You may hate them. But they work. By the end of 2013, at least two news outlets said Upworthy was the fastest-growing media site of all time . At its peak, the site, which is founded on a mission of promoting viral and uplifting content, was reaching close to 90 million people a month. Seemingly overnight, the newish company had changed the way the world wrote headlines, what it meant to create viral content and what kinds of expectations people bring to what they're clicking. But around November 2013, everything changed. Facebook began to introduce a number of alterations to theUpworthy Was One Of The Hottest Sites Ever. You Won't Believe What Happened Nexthttp://kuer.org/post/upworthy-was-one-hottest-sites-ever-you-wont-believe-what-happened-next
93140 as http://kuer.orgTue, 20 Jun 2017 19:35:00 +0000Upworthy Was One Of The Hottest Sites Ever. You Won't Believe What Happened NextSam Sandershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoLDX6RHTY4 With barely an Internet whimper, Pepe the Frog, the anthropomorphic cartoon character turned symbol of hate, was put down by his creator, Matt Furie, over the weekend, in a single-page comic strip. The final images were of Pepe dead in a casket, with three former roommates paying tribute by pouring some liquor on Pepe's face and drinking the rest. The demise of Pepe — who had become a symbol of the alt-right, neo-Nazis and white nationalists — was as sad as it was unlikely. Pepe, from the start, was supposed to be a good guy. But in the story of his rise and fall, some universal truths about the nature of modern Internet can be found. But first, let's look back at just how Pepe came to be. When Furie created the character in 2005 and later featured him in the comic Boy's Club, he was just trying to make a chill bro who happened to be an animal. "He's a 20-something post-college roommate," Furie told NPR. "He's an anthropomorphic frog thatWhat Pepe The Frog's Death Can Teach Us About The Internethttp://kuer.org/post/what-pepe-frogs-death-can-teach-us-about-internet
91815 as http://kuer.orgThu, 11 May 2017 17:23:00 +0000What Pepe The Frog's Death Can Teach Us About The InternetSam SandersCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Now let's talk about social media and federal law. All this week, Dan Scavino, who's president Trump's former caddy turned social media manager, has been getting slammed by ethics watchdogs for a tweet he sent. They say this tweet violated a law dating back to 1939. It's called the Hatch Act. NPR's Sam Sanders tried to figure out if he really broke the law. SAM SANDERS, BYLINE: The Dan Scavino tweet in question reads as follows. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Reading) @realDonaldTrump is bringing auto plants and jobs back to Michigan. @justinamash is a big liability. Hashtag #TrumpTrain, defeat him in primary. SANDERS: Amash is a Republican himself, part of the House Freedom Caucus. That's a group the president has criticized. A lot of experts said Scavino's tweet violates the Hatch Act. That law basically says employees in the executive branch cannot politic on government time or on the government dime. But here's the thing. Dan ScavinoIs A Tweet Partisan Political Activity? Did Scavino's Tweet Violate Hatch Act?http://kuer.org/post/tweet-partisan-political-activity-did-scavinos-tweet-violate-hatch-act
90432 as http://kuer.orgFri, 07 Apr 2017 11:39:00 +0000Is A Tweet Partisan Political Activity? Did Scavino's Tweet Violate Hatch Act?Sam SandersThe numbers, in several cases, are astounding. 350.org, a climate action group, saw donations almost triple in the month after Donald Trump's election. Since Trump's win, Planned Parenthood told NPR it's gained over 600,000 new donors and more than 36,000 new volunteers. And the American Civil Liberties Union has raised more than $80 million since Nov. 8. Key players in what's being called "The Resistance" — a vocal and growing progressive backlash to the Trump presidency — have been flooded with, and in some cases overwhelmed by an outpouring of money and volunteer support in the last few months. In many cases, these groups are struggling to keep up. For instance, MoveOn.org, an anti-war group turned anti-Trump group, and Indivisible, a group that created a playbook for progressives to lobby members of Congress and disrupt congressional town halls, held a joint conference call the day after the Women's March on Washington in January. It was historic. "We had 60,000 people join one'The Resistance' Faces A New Question: What To Do With All That Money http://kuer.org/post/resistance-faces-new-question-what-do-all-money
89920 as http://kuer.orgSun, 26 Mar 2017 12:00:00 +0000'The Resistance' Faces A New Question: What To Do With All That Money Sam SandersCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Let's examine the architecture of the opposition to President Trump. Many activist groups have been preparing for a long fight. And this story begins with an epic moment that came the weekend after the president's inauguration. NPR's Sam Sanders reports. SAM SANDERS, BYLINE: Anna Galland is the executive director of moveon.org's civic action. MoveOn began as an anti-war group during the George W. Bush era. Now the group is focused on fighting Trump. ANNA GALLAND: The day after the Women's March in Washington, we held a national conference call. SANDERS: Galland says that conference call was big. GALLAND: We had 60,000 people join one conference call. The Guinness Book of World Records told us that we broke the record for the world's largest conference call. SANDERS: Sixty-thousand people on one conference call, that sounds like the conference call from hell. GALLAND: (Laughter) People stayed the whole time, too. SANDERS: ThereGroups Behind Trump Resistance Look To Use Recent Windfall Wiselyhttp://kuer.org/post/groups-behind-trump-resistance-look-use-windfall-wisely
89701 as http://kuer.orgTue, 21 Mar 2017 09:04:00 +0000Groups Behind Trump Resistance Look To Use Recent Windfall WiselySam SandersThere was a time when a whistleblower had to rely on the Postal Service, or a pay phone, or an underground parking garage to leak to the press. This is a different time. A renewed interest in leaks since Donald Trump's surprise election victory last fall, and a growth in the use of end-to-end encryption technology, have led news organizations across the country to highlight the multiple high-tech ways you can now send them anonymous tips. The Washington Post , The New York Times and ProPublica have launched webpages outlining all the ways you can leak to them. ProPublica highlights three high-tech options on its page (in addition to the Postal Service): the encrypted messaging app Signal, an encrypted email program called PGP (or GPG) and an anonymous file sharing system for desktop computers called SecureDrop . The Washington Post goes even further, highlighting six digital options. Jeff Larson, a reporter at ProPublica, says of all this, "We're living in almost a golden age for leaksHow The Media Are Using Encryption Tools To Collect Anonymous Tipshttp://kuer.org/post/how-media-are-using-encryption-tools-collect-anonymous-tips
88847 as http://kuer.orgMon, 27 Feb 2017 10:02:00 +0000How The Media Are Using Encryption Tools To Collect Anonymous TipsSam SandersFor some time, the public has known that Donald Trump does a lot of his tweeting himself, from the account @realDonaldTrump, and from an Android smartphone. But many cybersecurity experts believed that would change once Trump took the oath of office, because White House-approved communication devices are much more secured — and stripped down — than the smartphones the rest of us use. In fact, former President Barack Obama once compared his official White House smartphone to a child's toy. "It doesn't take pictures, you can't text," Obama told Jimmy Fallon in 2016. "The phone doesn't work. You can't play your music on it. So, basically, it's like — does your 3-year-old have one of those play phones?" A few recent reports indicate that President Trump might still be tweeting from his old Android, and he may not even be following all the security protocols he should. Unsecure smartphone Soon after Trump's inauguration, an enterprising hacker found that Trump's @realDonaldTrump account wasIs Trump Tweeting From a 'Secure' Smartphone? The White House Won't Sayhttp://kuer.org/post/trump-tweeting-secure-smartphone-white-house-wont-say
87936 as http://kuer.orgFri, 03 Feb 2017 22:29:00 +0000Is Trump Tweeting From a 'Secure' Smartphone? The White House Won't SaySam SandersOh, 2016. The year it all went to hell. The year nothing made sense. The year we lost track of reality. The year Merriam-Webster made "surreal" its word of the year . For many, 2016 hasn't just been awful and strange; it's become its own Debbie-Downer catchphrase. 2016 itself has become its own meme . Where were you when you decided this would be how we remembered the year? When you decided 2016 was pure trash, utter filth, a fire in a dumpster ? Was it when David Bowie died? Or when Prince ended his purple reign? Or when you realized that, whoever won, Election 2016 was going to be a hot, smoldering mess? Was it Brexit ? Was it Harambe ? Which terror attack did it for you? Or maybe it was when Loretta Sanchez did the dab. However you got here, citizen of the Internet, rest assured, you are not alone. (I am with you. I've been calling 2016 the worst for months now.) And as this year comes to a close, many are memorializing it online by pointing out how much it sucked, how much it agedShould We All Just Stop Calling 2016 'The Worst'?http://kuer.org/post/should-we-all-just-stop-calling-2016-worst
86541 as http://kuer.orgWed, 28 Dec 2016 19:30:00 +0000Should We All Just Stop Calling 2016 'The Worst'?Sam SandersSince winning this year's presidential election, Donald Trump has given the American public no shortage of outbursts, public disputes and grandiose declarations on Twitter. Just this week, he questioned the veracity of CIA reports alleging Russian influence and hacking with the goal of helping Trump win the presidency. He has picked fights with The New York Times , CNN, Saturday Night Live , and Americans who would burn the American flag. Trump has called the Air Force One program too expensive, questioned America's China policy, and made allegations of widespread voter fraud (with no evidence supporting the claim). He also has bragged about making business deals with the likes of Lincoln, Carrier and a Japanese mogul. Trump claims these will save or create tens of thousands of jobs, though as more details emerge , the deals seem a lot less advantageous for American workers than the president-elect initially implied. All this has been done from Trump's Twitter account . Throughout theWhat Will Trump's Twitter Strategy Be When He Becomes President?http://kuer.org/post/what-will-trumps-twitter-strategy-be-when-he-becomes-president
85990 as http://kuer.orgTue, 13 Dec 2016 03:46:00 +0000What Will Trump's Twitter Strategy Be When He Becomes President?Sam SandersAs America continues to absorb the results of a truly contentious and historic presidential election, one group of voters may be particularly upset: Bernie Sanders supporters. For months over the course of the campaign, many in Sanders' ranks said he was the only candidate with a sure shot at beating Trump, that he could reach working class voters better than Hillary Clinton could, and that he offered a true progressive agenda that Clinton could not. But these supporters never got the chance to be proven right — or wrong. So now, some of them vent. "Schadenfreude," said Philip Werlau, a Bernie Sanders supporter, when asked his feelings about this week's election results. "That is the German word for taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune. ... Because I don't want Trump to be president. But I'm happy that what I perceived as unfair tactics lost." Werlau, a 26-year-old computer science student from Florida, voted for Libertarian Gary Johnson in this week's presidential election,After Trump Victory, Many Bernie Sanders Supporters Say 'I Told You So'http://kuer.org/post/after-trump-victory-many-bernie-sanders-supporters-say-i-told-you-so
84916 as http://kuer.orgSat, 12 Nov 2016 14:00:00 +0000After Trump Victory, Many Bernie Sanders Supporters Say 'I Told You So'Sam SandersCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: We're also joined now by NPR's Rachel Martin. She'll be hosting our election night special with us which begins in just about 10 minutes. Rachel, welcome. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Hey, Rachel. RACHEL MARTIN, BYLINE: Thanks for having me - getting settled for a long night. SIEGEL: OK. CORNISH: We're also going to check in with the presidential campaigns. NPR's Sarah McCammon is spending election night at the Hilton Midtown in New York City where Donald Trump will be later tonight. And also NPR's Tamara Keith is at the Javits Center in New York City there. Tamara, can you hear me? TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Yeah, I can. How are you doing? CORNISH: Good. So let's start just with closing arguments. What have we been hearing the last 48 hours? KEITH: The Clinton campaign closing argument in some ways almost looks past Election Day. She's been talking a lot about needing to bring the country together, to repair some of the fissures that havePresidential Candidates Await First Results In Key Stateshttp://kuer.org/post/presidential-candidates-await-first-results-key-states
84776 as http://kuer.orgWed, 09 Nov 2016 00:55:00 +0000Presidential Candidates Await First Results In Key StatesSam SandersI've noticed two distinct ways social media have changed the way we talk to each other about politics. Clearly, they have changed a lot, maybe everything, but two fairly new phenomena stand out. One happens on Facebook all the time. Just about all of your friends are posting about the election, nonstop. And there are a few who brag about deleting friends, or who urge friends to unfriend them over their political leanings: "Just unfriend me now." Or something like "If you can't support candidate X/Y, we don't need to be friends anymore." Or "Congrats, if you're reading this, you survived my friend purge!" Etc. You know how it goes. This public declaration, if not celebration, of the end of friendships because of politics. And then on Twitter, there's the public shaming of those who dare disagree with or insult you. (I am guilty of this.) Someone tweets at you with something incendiary, bashing the article you just shared or the point you just made, mocking something you said aboutDid Social Media Ruin Election 2016?http://kuer.org/post/did-social-media-ruin-election-2016
84742 as http://kuer.orgTue, 08 Nov 2016 10:25:00 +0000Did Social Media Ruin Election 2016?Sam SandersAt just about every Hillary Clinton campaign event this year, and much of last, you could find lots of rainbows and posters with the letters "LGBT" on them in the crowd. The average Hillary Clinton event has a healthy amount of gay, lesbian and transgender Clinton supporters in attendance. This past Thursday at a rally co-headlined by Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama, Charlotte resident Matt Hirschy wore a rainbow-print "H" sticker and a wedding ring. Before the rally, he was still celebrating the achievements of last year, namely the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country. "If you would have asked me growing up that my parents would accept me for being gay or that I'd be able to get married, I'd probably laugh," Hirschy says. "Well, I probably wouldn't do anything, I'd run away scared because I wasn't out yet, but I'd probably be very skeptical of it." Hirschy, a Hillary Clinton supporter, says that in spite of the2016 Has Been A Mixed Bag For LGBT Politicshttp://kuer.org/post/2016-has-been-mixed-bag-lgbt-politics
84388 as http://kuer.orgSun, 30 Oct 2016 09:15:00 +00002016 Has Been A Mixed Bag For LGBT PoliticsSam SandersIt was tense even before they started. Reporters tweeted that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump entered the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner from separate sides of the room, and didn't even shake hands (which at this point really isn't a surprise). But there was hope that Thursday night's event could serve as a comedic salve for the nation following three decidedly nasty presidential debates. The fundraising event for Catholic charities — now in its 71st year — traditionally is a time for the candidates to offer jokes about themselves and their opponent. Trump spoke first, and it was hard at times to tell if he was joking. Trump complained about all the politicians who loved him, his money and his endorsements before he decided to run for president. "Suddenly, [they] decided when I ran for president as a Republican that I've always been a no-good, rotten, disgusting scoundrel. And they totally forgot about me." And he continued, to silence from the crowd, "but that's OK." SomeAt Al Smith Dinner, Donald Trump Turns Friendly Roast Into 3-Alarm Firehttp://kuer.org/post/al-smith-dinner-donald-trump-turns-friendly-roast-3-alarm-fire
84064 as http://kuer.orgFri, 21 Oct 2016 11:03:00 +0000At Al Smith Dinner, Donald Trump Turns Friendly Roast Into 3-Alarm FireSam SandersIn front of an exuberant crowd Thursday in Delaware, Ohio, Donald Trump again addressed whether he would accept the outcome of the November election. "Ladies and gentleman I want to make a major announcement today," Trump said, continuing, "I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election ..." But there was more. Trump then finished that sentence with, "if I win," seemingly admitting a strange logic: that a system rigged against him would be totally acceptable if that rigging ultimately worked out in his favor. At Wednesday night's presidential detbate, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he would accept the results of the presidential election. For weeks, Trump has been claiming the race is rigged in Hillary Clinton's favor, in part because of deceased individuals and immigrants in the country illegally casting votes andDonald Trump Says He'll Accept The Results Of The Election ... If He Winshttp://kuer.org/post/donald-trump-says-hell-accept-results-election-if-he-wins
84028 as http://kuer.orgThu, 20 Oct 2016 18:51:00 +0000Donald Trump Says He'll Accept The Results Of The Election ... If He WinsSam SandersKalena Bowler remembers exactly where she was during Barack Obama's first presidential inauguration: at work. "I was the only Black person in the entire pre-production room." Bowler is an Atlanta-based TV producer and on Jan. 20, 2009, she says her white coworkers treated her extremely well when they all gathered to watch Obama take the oath of office. "When I walked in, it was almost like they rolled out the red carpet for Kalena," she said. "They said, 'come sit.' They let me sit in the front. I have an Afro! So I was blocking people's view. And I started crying, and a tissue box rolled up. I felt like royalty! It was weird, but you know what? I said, 'Let me have this.'" From then to now, it's been emotional-political whiplash. When asked to compare her joy that day to her experience watching the 2016 presidential campaign unfold, Bowler said, solemnly, "I often times just want to go home, get under my bed, and just stay there. But I can't." Bowler's experience this year is hardlyFor Much Of Black America, Election 2016 Has Been Roughhttp://kuer.org/post/much-black-america-election-2016-has-been-rough
83846 as http://kuer.orgSun, 16 Oct 2016 09:00:00 +0000For Much Of Black America, Election 2016 Has Been RoughSam SandersWhile we've been slogging through what feels like the most contentious presidential election in decades, Canada seems to have been dancing on air, still caught up in the glow of a relatively new prime minister who has been compared to a Disney prince. We on the other hand, are living through a point in the campaign where cable news might have to be censored for small children. Enter Canada, with a small, yet poignant show of support during our year of discontent. A Toronto-based creative agency called The Garden has created the "Tell America It's Great" campaign, complete with a hashtag and a video. "It's no secret that America is going through a hard time right now," the company said in a blog post . "The election has exposed some pretty scary realities that will likely challenge them for years to come, regardless of who's elected. They've been bombarded with a tremendous amount of negativity and it's likely that for many of them, the immediate future seems rather bleak." The companyCanada Just Wants To #TellAmericaItsGreathttp://kuer.org/post/canada-just-wants-tellamericaitsgreat
83817 as http://kuer.orgFri, 14 Oct 2016 22:54:00 +0000Canada Just Wants To #TellAmericaItsGreatSam SandersIn professor Jerome Hunt's American politics class last month at the University of the District of Columbia, there were many questions: Could whoever wins the election serve a second term, given Donald Trump's and Hillary Clinton's low favorability numbers? What will the Republican Party look like years from now, after the Trump phenomenon has its full effect? What will happen to the Supreme Court? It was the first session since the first presidential debate and a good hour or so of the 80-minute class ended up being completely devoted to a question-filled discussion — sometimes veering into therapy-session territory — breaking down the week in presidential politics. Hunt faced almost as many strong emotions as he did political queries. One student ranted that older generations had deserted millennials, leaving them to figure out a complex political world all by themselves. Others lamented the tenor of the election and decried what they saw as race-baiting throughout the campaignHow Do You Teach Politics In The Year Of Donald Trump?http://kuer.org/post/how-do-you-teach-politics-year-donald-trump
83538 as http://kuer.orgFri, 07 Oct 2016 09:00:00 +0000How Do You Teach Politics In The Year Of Donald Trump?Sam SandersOne could see the return of Saturday Night Live this weekend as the perfect remedy after our summer of discontent. After birtherism, and deplorables, and tax returns and emails, and rumors of affairs and and videos and body doubles, we could all use a laugh. As such, expectations were high for the show Saturday night, after being away for months, and returning only a few days after the most-viewed presidential debate in modern history. But it became clear, quickly, that any parody could not top the strange of the original act. SNL 's cold open was a comedic take on this week's debate , with SNL veteran Kate McKinnon playing Hillary Clinton and longtime friend of the show Alec Baldwin playing Trump. Even after McKinnon entered the stage coughing and wobbling with a cane (referencing the real candidate's recent bout of pneumonia) and after Alec Baldwin's Trump complained of a broken mic and left the stage in a huff after the first question, nothing seemed to compare to the real fireworks'Saturday Night Live' Is Trying To Make Us Laugh At An Election That Isn't Funnyhttp://kuer.org/post/saturday-night-live-trying-make-us-laugh-election-isnt-funny
83338 as http://kuer.orgSun, 02 Oct 2016 06:59:00 +0000'Saturday Night Live' Is Trying To Make Us Laugh At An Election That Isn't Funny